Interleukin 1-beta analysis in chronically inflamed and healthy human dental pulp

Background/Aim. Proinflammatory cytokines can act like endogenous pyrogen interleukin 1 (IL-1), interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) which regulate the synthesis of secondary mediators and other proinflammatory cytokines through macrophages and mesenchymal cells. They stimulate acute-phase proteins and attract inflammatory cells. The aim of this study was to determine interleukin 1-beta (IL-1 beta) concentrations in chronically inflamed and healthy dental pulps. Methods. A total of 41 pulps (19 from patients with pulpitis chronic causa and 22 from patients with pulpatis chronic aperta), divided into two groups, were obtained from teeth with chronic pulp inflammation. The control group consisted of 12 teeth with healthy pulp. After extirpation, pulp samples were immediately placed in sterile Eppendorf tubes and frozen. After that, homogenisation was performed by a Teflon (R) pestle in ice-cold phosphate buffer solution at pH 7.4 whose volume was adjusted ac-cording to the weight of tissue. The supernatant was then frozen at -70 degrees C until the performance of appropriate biochemical analyses. Cytokine IL-1 beta value was determined by a commercial enzyme- linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA test). We applied the high sensitivity system technique, which may register low levels of cytokines, ranging from 0.125 to 8.0 pg/mL for IL-1 beta. Results. By comparing the mean value of IL-1 beta, in the pulps we can see a statistically significant difference (p < 0.01) among them. The highest value of IL-1 beta was in the subjects with pulpitis chronica clausa and it was 6.21 +/- 2.70 pg/mL. Conclusion. Proinflammatory cytokine IL-1 beta is present in detectable quantities in the pulp tissue of all vital pulps. Its highest concentrations were found in the sample group with pulpitis chronica clausa.